La boda y el viaje

Back to reality after 10 days in Europe - Spain, France & Italy - I am still in a post-vacation fog.  But I offer these early observations:

Weddings are magical, particularly when they involve people you love dearly - like our niece Becca and her husband Kalle - and when they take place in a fantastically magical place, like a castle in Spain:

Cava is delicious.

as are these two new favorite summer drinks:

Spritz

The drink is prepared with prosecco (or champagne) wine, a dash of some bitter liqueur such as Aperol, Campari, Cynar, or, especially in Venice, with Select. The glass is then topped off with sparkling mineral water. It is usually served over ice in a lowball glass (or sometimes a martini glass or wine glass) and garnished with a slice of orange, or sometimes an olive, depending on the liqueur.

Tinto de Verano - Definitely the drink of the trip.

Put a few ice cubes in a wine glass and fill halfway with red wine.

Add either

-sprite, if you like it sweet

-a dash of lemonade/sprite then some sparkling water

-a little slice of orange to make it purdy and even more yum.

Everyone enjoyed tinto.

Spaniards never go to sleep.  The DJ started at midnight!

Collioure, in France, was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. 

 I wish we had stayed longer.

Driving across France and getting stuck for hours in a french traffic jam is sub-optimal.  Arles was lovely, but one should never ever try to navigate its old-city streets in a large BMW.  But you might see this scene as you're wandering through its streets,

and we had the best meal of the trip here.

Rome is so enchanting, such an intoxicating and delightful mix of appreciating the past and living in the moment.  Did you know that in addition to the fact the colliseum is a 60,000 seat, four-storied stadium built in the ancient world, it had a retractable cover?  For real!  And Rome was the one city with plentiful, free water spouts everywhere.  Why?  Because the Romans built aqueducts two thousand years ago.  Those Romans were geniuses.

Apollo and Daphne still make me weep. 

 The pantheon is, well, perfect.  And Trastevere is the best neighborhood.

Barcelona offers such a sensory wallop.  Gorgeous art, amazing architecture, fantastic food, delicious drinks and a totally jubilant vibe.

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia is stunning.

Tapas made me sigh with joy.

Tinto and sangria made me, well, you know.  

and My family made it perfect.